Ouachita Parish, Louisiana

Parish storm and disaster record · FIPS 22073 · population 160,298 · 610 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 1,004 records for Ouachita Parish, Louisiana from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 597 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (380 records). NOAA records 122 flood or flash floods there since 1999, with 5 deaths; its 6,984 flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA) rank 72nd of 2,942 U.S. counties; the deadliest named storm on its flood record is Hurricane Gustav (2008). The deadliest single record is the August 16, 2011 excessive heat, filed for the forecast zone Ouachita, which covers the county: 2 deaths. FEMA has issued 44 declarations naming the county since 1965, 41 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on February 18, 2026.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
1,004on 597 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
1126 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$389Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
47strongest F4
FEMA declarations
44latest 2026

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Ouachita Parish most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 380 since 1957. The rank column places the county among Louisiana's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Ouachita Parish: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Severe thunderstorm wind 380 233 1957-2026 2 7 $14M 8 of 64
Hail 256 153 1959-2026 0 1 $4K 4 of 64
Floods 122 59 1999-2026 5 0 $56M 10 of 64
Heat 93 92 2000-2025 4 0 – 6 of 64
Tornadoes 47 39 1951-2022 0 17 $315M 18 of 64
Drought 44 44 1998-2026 0 0 – 6 of 64
Winter storms 28 28 1996-2026 0 0 $373K 8 of 64
Lightning 10 10 2000-2025 0 1 $850K 14 of 64
High wind and dust storms 8 8 2002-2025 0 0 $433K 4 of 64
Extreme cold 6 6 2010-2026 0 0 $677K 18 of 64
Hurricanes and tropical storms 5 5 2008-2020 0 0 $685K 51 of 64
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 3 3 1996-2018 0 0 – 25 of 64
Heavy rain 2 2 2010-2011 0 0 – 22 of 64

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Ouachita Parish had?

NOAA records 47 tornadoes in Ouachita Parish from 1951 to 2022, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 17 injuries recorded in the county. That is 18th of 64 Louisiana counties and 255th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 47 tornadoes whose track touched Ouachita Parish since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 47, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 2 people, 0 of them in Ouachita Parish.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Ouachita Parish, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1983-04-01 16:15, as SPC files itCollinstonF49 mi2
2020-04-12 10:36, as SPC files itMonroeEF38.01 mi0
2020-04-12 10:39, as SPC files itSterlingtonEF32.6 mi0
1968-02-01 17:45, as SPC files itRichwoodF30.5 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Louisiana.

Every tornado record filed for Ouachita Parish (47)
Every tornado recorded in Ouachita Parish, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2022-04-12 Frizzell, Ouachita Parish EF1 2.55 mi x 300 yd 0 1 $50K
2021-04-07 Calhoun, Ouachita Parish EF0 2.81 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2020-04-12 Fairbanks, Ouachita Parish EF1 1.14 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $29K
2020-04-12 Phillips, Ouachita Parish EF3 2.6 mi x 400 yd 0 0 $855K
2020-04-12 Bawcomville, Ouachita Parish EF3 8.01 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $285M
2019-05-08 Millhaven, Ouachita Parish EF1 4.27 mi x 75 yd 0 0 –
2018-04-14 Eureka, Ouachita Parish EF1 2.64 mi x 1,545 yd 0 0 $47K
2018-04-13 Calhoun, Ouachita Parish EF1 1.72 mi x 600 yd 0 0 $147K
2014-10-13 Cheniere, Ouachita Parish EF2 9.05 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $4.7M
2014-10-13 Okaloosa, Ouachita Parish EF1 0.7 mi x 225 yd 0 0 $312K
2011-04-26 Frizzell, Ouachita Parish EF0 1.88 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $262
2011-04-26 Indian Vlg, Ouachita Parish EF0 4.08 mi x 70 yd 0 0 –
2010-11-29 Luna, Ouachita Parish EF1 3.67 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $14K
2009-04-09 Indian Vlg, Ouachita Parish EF2 5.9 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $688K
2009-03-27 Lapine, Ouachita Parish EF0 1.6 mi x 75 yd 0 0 $7K
2001-11-23 Okaloosa, Ouachita Parish F0 2.2 mi x 15 yd 0 0 –
1999-01-22 Okaloosa, Ouachita Parish F0 2.1 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
1996-11-24 Monroe, Ouachita Parish F1 0.3 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $113K
1995-04-22 Luna, Ouachita Parish F0 0.1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1995-04-22 Monroe, Ouachita Parish F0 0.1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1993-03-30 Bosco, Ouachita Parish F1 4 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $1.0M
1992-04-19 Ouachita Parish F1 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
1992-04-19 Ouachita Parish F1 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
1989-06-27 Ouachita Parish F1 0.2 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1989-06-27 Ouachita Parish F1 0.2 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1989-06-27 Ouachita Parish F1 2 mi x 77 yd 0 0 $250K step
1986-03-18 Ouachita Parish F2 2 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $250K step
1985-04-05 Ouachita Parish F1 1.8 mi x 150 yd 0 0 –
1984-05-07 Ouachita Parish F0 0.5 mi x 77 yd 0 0 $25K step
1983-12-02 Ouachita Parish F2 2 mi x 50 yd 0 10 $2.5M step
1983-04-01 Ouachita Parish F4 4 mi x 1,000 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1982-04-19 Ouachita Parish F0 0 0 $250 step
1978-05-07 Ouachita Parish F1 0 0 –
1977-03-11 Ouachita Parish F1 0 0 $3K step
1975-04-29 Ouachita Parish F1 17.2 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $3K step
1974-06-15 Ouachita Parish F0 0 0 –
1974-06-07 Ouachita Parish F1 0 0 $25K step
1974-03-28 Ouachita Parish F1 30.2 mi x 33 yd 0 4 $25K step
1968-03-11 Ouachita Parish F0 0.5 mi x 33 yd 0 0 –
1968-02-01 Ouachita Parish F3 0.5 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1965-07-20 Ouachita Parish F1 0.1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $3K step
1965-07-10 Ouachita Parish F1 4.1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250K step
1963-06-21 Ouachita Parish F0 1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250 step
1962-02-23 Ouachita Parish F0 0.5 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250 step
1956-10-02 Ouachita Parish F0 0.5 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $250 step
1954-04-30 Ouachita Parish F2 1 mi x 67 yd 0 1 $250K step
1951-04-21 Ouachita Parish F0 1 mi x 33 yd 0 1 $25K step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Ouachita Parish?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 29, 2025 lightning ($35,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Ouachita Parish
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-20 Flash FloodHighland Park, Ouachita Parish 0 0 –
2026-06-20 Flash FloodFolksville, Ouachita Parish 0 0 –
2026-06-20 Flash FloodWilds, Ouachita Parish 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtOuachita Parish · forecast zone Ouachita 0 0 –
2026-05-28 Flash FloodBreard, Ouachita Parish 0 0 –
2026-05-10 HailEdgewater, Ouachita Parish 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtOuachita Parish · forecast zone Ouachita 0 0 –
2026-04-29 HailClaiborne, Ouachita Parish 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-29 HailCalhoun, Ouachita Parish 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtOuachita Parish · forecast zone Ouachita 0 0 –
2026-03-26 DroughtOuachita Parish · forecast zone Ouachita 0 0 –
2026-03-07 Thunderstorm WindMonroe Regional Arp, Ouachita Parish 51 kt wind 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Ouachita Parish, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2011-08-16 Excessive HeatOuachita Parish · forecast zone Ouachita Excessive heat claimed the life of a 75 year old woman and her disabled son. Investigators determined that the two likely perished because of the heat from earlier in the week. Police said that the air conditioning was not working in their home. 2 0 –
1990-02-09 Thunderstorm WindOuachita Parish 1 1 –
2019-04-13 Flash FloodBawcomville, Ouachita Parish A 13 year old boy drowned in floodwaters in a drainage canal on Evergreen Street just past the Boys and Girls Club in the Bawcomville community. 1 0 –
2019-04-13 FloodFolksville, Ouachita Parish An 80 year old female drove past barricades on Golson Rd. south of I-20 in Calhoun. The road had residual flooding from previous flash flooding earlier in the day. The vehicle became submerged by the flood waters, and the driver was unable to escape and drowned. 1 0 –
2016-03-09 Flash FloodFolksville, Ouachita Parish A 22 year old male drowned when the vehicle he was driving was swept off the road by floodwaters. 1 0 –
2011-04-27 Flash FloodMonroe, Ouachita Parish A person drove through a barricaded and flooded roadway at Plum Street and the Railroad underpass. The water was reportedly deeper than the car she was driving and she drowned. 1 0 $13K
2011-04-27 Flash FloodMonroe, Ouachita Parish A 45 year old man drove his automobile into a flooded intersection at Arizona Street and East Street. He was later found by 2 people drowned in his vehicle. 1 0 $13K
2000-08-20 HeatOuachita Parish · forecast zone Ouachita A Monroe man was found dead in his home after he died from a heat stroke. The air conditioner in the home did not work but a fan was on. 1 0 –
The costliest records in Ouachita Parish since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-04-12 TornadoBawcomville, Ouachita Parish EF3 8.01 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $285M
2016-03-08 Flash FloodEureka, Ouachita Parish 0 0 $43M
2008-09-02 Flash FloodPine Grove, Ouachita Parish 0 0 $6.9M
1997-05-27 Thunderstorm WindMonroe, Ouachita Parish 0 0 $5.5M
2014-10-13 TornadoCheniere, Ouachita Parish EF2 9.05 mi x 300 yd 0 0 $4.7M
2009-10-19 FloodWall Lake, Ouachita Parish 0 0 $4.1M
2013-12-21 Thunderstorm WindLakeshore, Ouachita Parish 60 kt wind 0 0 $3.2M
2015-04-22 Thunderstorm WindDeshard, Ouachita Parish 65 kt wind 0 1 $1.2M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: December 2, 1983 (tornado, Ouachita Parish); April 1, 1983 (tornado, Ouachita Parish).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Ouachita Parish's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Ouachita Parish: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Severe thunderstorm wind3132334675810280
Hail14124257633938
Floods––––1425920
Heat––––022962
Tornadoes36697385
Drought––––202715

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Ouachita Parish. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 53 · Feb 46 · Mar 111 · Apr 210 · May 119 · Jun 107 · Jul 113 · Aug 84 · Sep 46 · Oct 36 · Nov 37 · Dec 42 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Ouachita Parish

FEMA's register lists 44 declarations that include Ouachita Parish: 27 major disasters, 17 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (20) and flood (7).

Declarations including Ouachita Parish, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2026-02-18DR-4900Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2026-01-24EM-3638Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2024-09-10EM-3614HurricaneTropical Storm Francine
2021-09-13EM-3574Coastal StormTropical Storm Nicholas
2021-08-29DR-4611HurricaneHurricane Ida
2021-08-27EM-3568HurricaneTropical Storm Ida
2021-03-09DR-4590Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storms
2021-02-18EM-3556Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Storm
2020-10-27EM-3549HurricaneTropical Storm Zeta
2020-10-16DR-4570HurricaneHurricane Delta
2020-10-07EM-3547HurricaneHurricane Delta
2020-09-14EM-3543HurricaneHurricane Sally
2020-08-28DR-4559HurricaneHurricane Laura
2020-08-23EM-3538HurricaneTropical Storms Laura and Marco
2020-06-07EM-3527Coastal StormTropical Storm Cristobal
2020-03-24DR-4484BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3459BiologicalCovid-19
2019-09-19DR-4462FloodFlooding
2019-07-11EM-3416Coastal StormTropical Storm Barry
2016-03-13DR-4263FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
2012-08-29DR-4080HurricaneHurricane Isaac
2012-08-27EM-3347HurricaneTropical Storm Isaac
2009-12-10DR-1863Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
2008-09-02DR-1786HurricaneHurricane Gustav
2008-08-29EM-3289HurricaneHurricane Gustav
2006-11-02DR-1668Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2005-09-24DR-1607HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-09-21EM-3260HurricaneHurricane Rita
2005-08-29DR-1603HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2005-08-27EM-3212HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2004-09-15DR-1548HurricaneHurricane Ivan
2003-02-01EM-3172OtherLoss of Space Shuttle Columbia
2002-10-03DR-1437HurricaneHurricane Lili
2001-01-12DR-1357Severe Ice StormSevere Winter Ice Storm
2000-02-15DR-1314SnowstormSevere Winter Storm
1999-01-21DR-1264Severe StormSevere Ice Storm
1991-05-03DR-904Severe StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding
1989-05-20DR-829FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1983-01-11DR-675FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
1978-09-20DR-565FloodSevere Storms & Flooding

The 40 most recent of 44 are listed; the CSV has every one.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Ouachita Parish had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 122 flood or flash flood records for Ouachita Parish from 1999 to 2026, on 59 days, with 5 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Ouachita Parish ranks 72nd of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

Named storms on Ouachita Parish's flood and tropical record
StormBeganRecordsDeaths in the county
Hurricane Gustav2008-09-0150

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $163 million on 6,984 claims filed in Ouachita Parish; the most in one year was 1,765 in 2016. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1978: 373 · 1979: 100 · 1980: 58 · 1981: 2 · 1982: 363 · 1983: 160 · 1984: 22 · 1985: 17 · 1986: 3 · 1987: 34 · 1988: 23 · 1989: 989 · 1990: 38 · 1991: 1,326 · 1992: 4 · 1993: 17 · 1994: 18 · 1995: 31 · 1996: 7 · 1997: 24 · 1998: 23 · 1999: 81 · 2000: 16 · 2001: 48 · 2002: 10 · 2003: 32 · 2004: 23 · 2005: 14 · 2006: 15 · 2007: 2 · 2008: 376 · 2009: 102 · 2010: 11 · 2011: 580 · 2012: 17 · 2013: 3 · 2014: 24 · 2015: 8 · 2016: 1,765 · 2017: 25 · 2018: 47 · 2019: 65 · 2020: 26 · 2021: 5 · 2022: 13 · 2023: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2025: 28 · 2026: 6.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Ouachita Parish

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ouachita Parish Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $50.3 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Ouachita Parish (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
Ice StormVery High$1.8M1.2 a year (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively High$6.4M21 modeled event-days a year
TornadoRelatively High$10Monce in about 2 years (modeled)
Strong WindRelatively High$1.6M3.6 a year (modeled)
LightningRelatively High$774K68 a year (modeled)
Riverine FloodingRelatively Moderate$22M1.9 a year (modeled)
HailRelatively Moderate$979K3.3 a year (modeled)
Cold WaveRelatively Moderate$1.6Monce in about 2 years (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Ouachita Parish

  1. Ouachita Parish 1,004
  2. Union Parish 858
  3. Lincoln Parish 641
  4. Morehouse Parish 578
  5. Jackson Parish 519
  6. Richland Parish 461
  7. Caldwell Parish 421

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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